We can’t say enough about Chelsey and her doula services!!! We signed up with her a little later in our pregnancy, around 30 weeks, and still feel like we got the best service and experience with her! We hired her, along with a midwife she had never met/worked with before, and they were THE. BEST. Birthing team we could have asked for. From the time she arrived at our house for our home birth, to the time our baby finally arrived at the hospital due to minor complications at home, Chelsey was there by my side through the whole experience and made me feel so relaxed and confident. I will never forget having her next to me in the hospital bed, cheering me on and helping me push my baby out!!! It brings tears to my eyes to this day thinking about it!!! Another awesome benefit she provides is a 2-day birthing course before your birth that helps you learn everything and anything about pregnancy, the actual birthing, and postpartum. As a first-time mom, this was so helpful and beneficial. It came in handy during the home birth and then the final hospital birth mainly because we had to make tough decisions at the hospital, and we were aware and already informed on the risks and benefits of each decision due to her classes!!! She also always was available for any questions and concerns throughout the pregnancy, and that always took a weight off of our shoulders because we knew we had someone we could always go to. I know we will continue to be friends with Chelsey even after our baby’s birth. She is such a good person and truly cares about what she does. If we have another baby, we will DEFINITELY use her again!!!
Elke Stevenson, November 11, 2024
My husband and I were expecting our firstborn in September 2024. I originally wanted to give birth at a birthing center; however, due to demand there was no availability. We decided if I was to give birth in a hospital, I wanted to at least have the support of a doula to help advocate for us. For this birth, I had specific goals in mind:
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I wanted help in to developing a birth plan where I was educated on all preferences and the hospital staff were able to easily follow and adhere to.
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Have a Spontaneous natural birth. No induction date. I wanted my baby to be born when she chose – not when the doctor was available. (My baby was 1 week and 6 days past due. I really wavered during this time on whether I made the right decision on waiting. Chelsey’s reassurance really helped me during this time.)
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Labor as long as possible at home and not at the hospital. (Once contractions started, I was anxious to go to the hospital and when I did, contractions subsided once I got there. Chelsey recommended I go home, and labor there and not stay at the hospital. Because I listened to her, I was able to labor in the comfort of my home for the 26 hours before I gave birth.)
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Natural unmedicated birth – If I would have stayed in the hospital I would have been induced and inevitably gotten an epidural.
With Chelsey’s help I was able to achieve all of these things. During our prenatal visits, she made time to connect with us and provided resources to help us prepare for the birth. I was unaware of all of the options we had and all the different preferences we had to make. The knowledge she provided us was invaluable. If she didn’t know the answer to a question or wasn’t 100% positive on its answer, she would do her research and would provide evidence-based resources.
The day of birth, Chelsey met us at the hospital and was a great advocate between the hospital staff and us. She was very proactive with keeping me moving and trying new positions and I was mostly vertical for most of my labor. Without her pain management techniques, I don’t think I could have survived hard labor/transition period. Chelsey’s hip squeezes are by far the best. These provided me with so much relief during this time. I probably would have opted for pain medication if someone had asked me and if she wasn’t there to encourage me and provide me with this relief. This is especially incredible because she had slammed her fingers in a door earlier that day and was icing her poor fingers in between contractions/squeezes. I tried telling her to let my husband to do them, but she could tell I much preferred when she did it. Chelsey was so very committed to keeping me as comfortable as I could be during this time, and I am eternally grateful. She helped me stay focused and reminded me on where to focus my energies and even encouraged the guttural beast-like noises I was making. Chelsey took it upon herself to document our birth and took pictures as our sweet baby entered the world. These pictures (especially the ones of my husband’s face 🤣) will always be cherished. Chelsey stayed a few hours after the birth, which I very much appreciated,
and she even called our placenta services company and iced down my placenta. She really went above and beyond for us. I couldn’t have achieved the birth of my dreams without her.
Courtney Merritt, November 5, 2024
My husband and I knew from pretty early on in pregnancy that having a doula was very important to us. We found Chelsey through a friend of a friend’s recommendation and wow; we could not have made a better decision. She was so attentive and caring from the moment we met for our consultation and even now as I’m navigating life postpartum. She is so so informed about pregnancy and birth and on the rare occasion that a topic came up that she was less familiar with she was ready to do the research to help me. We also took her birth course and that was such a great experience as well. We covered so much crucial information that I honestly got emotional because the birth of my first child was becoming so real and not just something that would happen down the road. And I knew that without Chelsey and her class I would be completely lost. My baby came a couple days early, but I was in communication with Chelsey the entire time. I went to the hospital for decreased movement and ended up getting admitted. I called Chelsey and we made a game plan. The next morning my water broke and so she got to the hospital as fast as she could, and things were moving right along. I had some unexpected twists and turns in my first birth and honestly, it would’ve been so much more stressful for my husband and me without Chelsey there as a third party to walk us through risks and benefits and remind us of what we wanted for our birth. Not only did Chelsey support me, but she was so helpful for my husband. She made him into the greatest birth coach and between the two of them I felt so loved and supported during the hardest few days of my life!
Monica O'Brien, September 26, 2024
Chelsey hosted a fantastic birth class, and we are so glad we decided to attend! We are 2nd time parents, but appreciate how much we learned from her birth class. Our goal in attending was to learn relaxation techniques, exercises to prepare for labor and to feel ready for birth. Chelsey helped us achieve those goals. We learned about Spinning Babies, Hypnobabies, and other prenatal exercises. Due to some health issues, I do need to get an epidural and I appreciate that Chelsey was respectful of that and taught me techniques to deal with labor so I can at least delay my epidural. Her material & information we learned was beneficial in the hospital to reference when discussing options with our doctor. Chelsey was kind and informative, I recommend parents take her class!
Catherine Dresner, August 7, 2024
“Before meeting Chelsey, my idea of a quintessential doula was a crunchy hippie who smelled like essential oils and shrieked when you said the word epidural like you mentioned Voldemort. I wanted a medicated birth, and because of that alone, I never thought I'd have a doula. Little did I know, a doula that is truly doing her job is supportive of whatever birth plan the mother wants. It is primarily her (or his) job to support the mother, including if she wants medication.
Chelsey provided me with valuable information to support my entire pregnancy, birth, and postpartum journey. She helped me with my diet, my baby registry, my mental health, and frequently checked in after my doctor's appointments. She educated me on what to expect during the birth, so that I had less anxiety surrounding what I knew nothing about at the time. She also met with my husband and I on how he could help me through contractions at home before I went to the hospital.
While my husband would have loved to play the traditional role of my birth coach, he was extremely grateful that Chelsey filled that responsibility and took the pressure off of him. He was able to stay "above the action" and just focus on becoming a Dad. She was also able to take pictures that we treasure more than she could ever know. We went from thinking we would never be the type of people to hire a doula to bonusing her after my daughter was born, and that was my husband's idea. She was supportive of my birth plan no matter what that looked like, and she was sorely missed at my 2nd birth, which she would have been unable to attend due to Covid restrictions at the hospital.
If you're thinking of hiring a Houston area doula, waddle your way to Chelsey. You won't be sorry you did."
Brittany Frase, January 25, 2021, Reflecting on her birth experience from December 4, 2018
"Chelsey was a wonderful addition to my birth team, I got exactly the pregnancy and home birth/water birth I wanted. I knew instantly upon our first interview she was right for me. She stayed in touch to make sure all my questions, concerns, and changes were being addressed throughout my pregnancy. At 40.5 weeks, I worked to bring my daughter into the world she helped me stay comfortable and supported, especially when my labor stalled and I felt hopelessly lost and exhausted. She was the first to stay and last to leave during my many, many hours labor! If we decide to add another little one to our family, we will be guaranteed to use Chelsey's services again!"
Madeleine Moore, June 18, 2019
"Chelsey and I go way back to our college sorority days, as members of Alpha Chi Omega at Houston Baptist University, so I know her passion for everything she does would shine in her work as my doula. From the first time I spoke with her about a doula's role in my pregnancy to our postpartum visit, she has been a wealth of knowledge for me and my baby. Going into my first pregnancy, I wanted a natural birth, but due to preeclampsia, I had to be induced at 37 weeks, which honestly scared me. Chelsey kept sending me tons of resources and checking in on me daily. When it came time for the induction, the plans changed again, due to hospital policy, and Chelsey sent me evidence-based articles to help support my decision when I didn't agree with my OB's drug choice for induction. During labor, she kept telling me our agreed phrase, "Five more minutes, you can do this for five more minutes" to encourage me to push through my contractions and assisted me into different positions to promote labor progression. She worked so well with the hospital staff and was such a blessing to have during my labor and delivery, especially since my husband and I did not know what to expect at all! She even took pictures immediately after the delivery of our new family- pictures that I still cherish and show to everyone. I couldn't imagine my birth without the love and support Chelsey gave to us! I HIGHLY recommend her and can't wait for her to be a part of our next pregnancy!!!
Laura Shepherd, October 19th, 2018
"My home birth midwife recommended Chelsey as a good doula for me in my 7th month of pregnancy. When I went into labor, Chelsey went above and beyond my expectations of her as a newly trained doula. She was so intuitive and knew exactly what I needed when I needed it without me having to say anything at all. I remember her speaking my birth affirmations to me and quoting Bible verses I had picked out to focus on. The support I felt from her was 110%, and I can't imagine my birth without her now. Even my husband was amazed at how helpful she was, and he is very hard to impress. I will definitely be using Chelsey again when we choose to expand our family in the future! She has become an integral part of my birth team!"
Jessica Johnson, July 22, 2018
"My husband and I had the benefit of working with Chelsey as our Doula for the birth of our first daughter. I was able to meet with her ahead of time to discuss our birth plan and our goal to deliver as naturally as possible. Chelsey also had experience with The Bradley Method from her own delivery, which was important to us. Unfortunately, my water broke early and we had to start adjusting our birth plan from there. Chelsey was very helpful in discussing the options given by our doctor and letting us choose how to proceed. During the labor process, I found the extra support to be crucial to the process. Chelsey helped coach my husband in ways to provide counter pressure and other support as my contractions increased in intensity. When presented with pain relief options from the nursing staff, Chelsey helped provide clarity and reminded me of potential effects on myself and my baby, so I could make an educated decision on how to proceed. She was with me through the actual delivery process and was able to assist me with helping the baby latch for her first feeding. I am so grateful she was there to help us. While my birth process didn't go as planned, I felt I was able to make adjustments [much more smoothly] than I could have done on my own."
Deanna Krapf, March 21, 2018
"My wife and I recently worked with Chelsey Hernandez, and I must say, WOW!!! I had never met Chelsey before and the first time was when we were in the labor and delivery room. Chelsey came in calm, cool, and relaxed, and stayed that way for the next 18-24 hours. Chelsey provided much support, wisdom, knowledge, strength, ideas, and communicated very well with [me and] my wife throughout her entire stay. She was a breath of fresh air and I feel so blessed to have had her in the room with us during our delivery. Her constant, positive support and continual reassurance on how good a job my wife was doing was amazing to witness. I was doing everything I could to help out and be supportive, and I feel like I did a great job, but it was definitely so important that Chelsey was there with us. Words cannot express my thanks for having her in the room with us and [she] was definitely the coach we needed. She was a trooper! Checking different resources, recommending different ideas, and referring back to her training. She was a great support to not only my wife, but also to me. She coached me through some different aspects and gave advice on how to help my wife. Chelsey also was able to give us suggestions on what questions to ask our nurses, as well as explain different medical terms we were not familiar with. She was prepared mentally and physically! I told her a few different times that we would not have been able to do this without her help and guidance and I still feel the same today, 2 weeks after the birth of our beautiful daughter. Thank you so much, Chelsey, for being a part of this amazing experience and forever putting an imprint on our lives."
Matt Krapf, March 22, 2018
"I knew Chelsey before she became a doula, so she was not there for my birth, but Chelsey has been incredibly supportive and resourceful throughout my entire pregnancy and post-pregnancy! Anytime I had a question or concern regarding my pregnancy or the baby, she was my go-to person to get all of my questions answered. She not only helped answer all my questions via phone/text anytime of the day, but she also always sent me supporting documents and articles that I could look over to further give me confidence in the answers she gave me. She truly cares in helping moms feel comfortable and happy with whatever decisions they want to make. I am confident to say that any person who reaches out to her will not be disappointed with the help they receive! Even after I had delivered my baby, Chelsey was always there for late night baby and breastfeeding questions! She helped guide me in the right direction on the nights I was so close to giving up! I found her support so helpful!"